The road to a world championship of the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) in Brazilian jiu-jitsu didn’t start with hundreds of students and years of tradition. It started in a garage.

Impact Fitness and Martial Arts in Millville is run by lifelong Millville resident Dan Dixon. The 45-year-old black belt started in 2001 and used to train six days a week in Philadelphia and Egg Harbor, which eventually turned into a mat in the garage to train with his sons Dain and Connor.

“I started training and I became obsessed with it. I was doing judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu separately,” said Dixon, who was also teaching children’s classes at the time. “It was all I thought about for years and years.”

Then in 2006, an instructor mentioned to Dixon that he should open up his own club. He would eventually leave his job as a nursery sales representative selling plants to open Impact in February of 2007, the first Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Cumberland County. Now, the Millville native has created a world champion.

The team took first place in the Gi division on April 25 in Morristown with the help of the students in his classes, his wife Tara Dixon and his son Connor. They are the first South Jersey team to place in the top-10 at the event and also the first to win a competition that has more than 1,500 participants from over 13 countries.

Thirteen competitors from Impact medaled in the Gi division, including double medal wins from Carlos Perez, Raymond D’Antonio and Charles Mashera. Dixon encourages everyone that he trains to compete when tournaments arrive, not only for the team, but to help them cultivate their skills.

“I think part of the sport and part of this martial art is putting pressure on you. If it doesn’t challenge you, it’s not going to change you,” said Dixon, who won the Men’s Director Heavyweight black belt at the competition. “It’s a very character building moment in your life. Are you going to give up, or are you going to fight as hard as you can the whole time?”

That message is something that carries with members of the team. Steve Perez, a 36-year-old Millville resident, has been with Dixon from the start. After recovering from a severe car accident where he injured his spine, he saw a sign for the gym and wanted to prove something to himself.

“It was basically someone’s kitchen with a mat in it,” Perez said. “After the first roll, I felt sick but I wanted to do more. For me, I have something to prove to myself, that I can get out here and do this. This is where I want to be every day after what I have been through.”

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For others, like 41-year-old Heidi Sherman, it is about getting fit and bonding with her children, who also take classes at Impact.

“I’m just a mom of four and I just wanted to challenge myself and see what I can do. I wanted to show my girls that you can be strong. It gives you a little more confidence, strength and really pushes you to the limit.”

There are 12 women currently training at Impact, which Dixon explains is an unusually high number even for large schools. Part of it he believes is due to his wife Tara, who is an instructor at Impact and placed second in the women’s master purple belt featherweight division.

The two met in 2008 and she has been training ever since they got together. Her presence, she believes promotes a family atmosphere that attracts everyone to come out and work.

“It has not only grown our team, but grown our women. You go to other clubs and you might only have two or three girls and they roll with the guys. It’s great not only for competing, but for self-defense,” Dixon said. “We’re a family and that’s how we set it up.”

Competing trickles all the way down to the youngest Dixon. Nine-year-old Mason and five-year-old Ilana also have been competing since they turned four. Dan Dixon jokes that none of the kids have a choice. Dan’s 19-year old son Connor is also an instructor at Impact.

Connor has taken what he’s learned from his years in the garage and at Impact to become a brown belt and won first place in the expert division at the NAGA World Championship. He stands in at times for Dan and works with other brown belts, Anthony and Jeremy Wilson, to teach the class.

He was also a standout wrestler at Millville High School. Dixon first joined the team as a sophomore and won the District 31 championship as a senior and credits his training from a young age for his success. Brazilian jiu-jitsu will always be a part of his life.

“I just kind of grew up with it, and without it, I don’t know what I would do,” Dixon said. “Jiu-jitsu really helped with movement and knowing how to move your hips. It helped me use my reaction time and showed me how to control people by using your body weight.”

His ultimate goal is to make it to the UFC, but mentions that he just wants to keep training and keep competing. Impact will get a chance to defend their Gi division title at the upcoming Battle at the Beach at the Wildwood Convention Center in August. They are working hard, but Dan Dixon wants them to enjoy their deserved success.

“Our students did an amazing job at the competition,” Dixon said. “I couldn’t be more proud of all the hard work that each one of them has put into their training.”